Most detailed maps for Edge 605/705?

Mr Plum

Hi,

I'm new to cycle GPS and new to touring but have jumped in at the deep end with an unassisted LEJOG ride in May with a good friend of mine in order to raise money for a charity that's very close to our hearts. Now, to complete this I've bought an Edge 705 and planned to use free OSM maps to complete my route, but what are the most detailed full UK maps that you can get for free? I've been linked to a few but you cannot zoom in as far as I would really like.

What is the max scale that a 705 will support, and what is the most detailed freely available map of the entire UK? Any suggestions massively appreciated.

amaferanga

Best maps for road use are the Garmin City Navigator maps. They're similar to the OSM maps, only you know with the Garmin maps that there aren't missing roads, etc.

The thing is with the Edge that since the screen is so small then you don't want detail - it would quickly become impossible to make sense of the map with lots of detail.

To get the most out of your Edge you will need to plan your route in advance and upload it to the device. Once you've done this the detail in the map is kind of irrelevant unless you take unplanned detours.

andymiller

I haven't got a 605, but 1:50k topographic maps work fine on my eTrex Venturde and there's nothing to stop you enlarging further.

The OpenCycleMap project will sell you a topographic map of the UK for £15 or so. Worth checking out.

Garmin also do a topographic map of the UK - I've used their topographic map of Italy and it works fine,

If you go for the Garmin CityNavigator get the DVD - the SD card is a false economy.

jibberjim

amaferanga wrote:

Best maps for road use are the Garmin City Navigator maps. They're similar to the OSM maps, only you know with the Garmin maps that there aren't missing roads, etc.

Around me I've found more missing/false roads with the Garmin Navigator than the OSM maps, but the OSM coverage is excellent here.

You can fit the entire City Navigator and OSM UK maps on a single card though so there's no need to have an either/or question.

amaferanga

andymiller wrote:

I haven't got a 605, but 1:50k topographic maps work fine on my eTrex Venturde and there's nothing to stop you enlarging further.

The OpenCycleMap project will sell you a topographic map of the UK for £15 or so. Worth checking out.

Garmin also do a topographic map of the UK - I've used their topographic map of Italy and it works fine,

If you go for the Garmin CityNavigator get the DVD - the SD card is a false economy.

Are the topographic maps any good for road cycling though? I tried some topographic OSM maps and they were just cluttered and (even more) difficult to make sense of.

andymiller

amaferanga wrote:

Are the topographic maps any good for road cycling though? I tried some topographic OSM maps and they were just cluttered and (even more) difficult to make sense of.

Ah I don't know about the topographic OSM maps. My experience of others is that as you zoom out you get less detail (as you'd expect). Have you tried changing the settings on the GPS (IIRC you can control the level of detail - and there is of course declutter on/off).